More than 160,000 people died in the United States of an unintended injury in 2016, the National Safety Council says. Unintended injury often happens when you least expect it, the council warns, such as while you’re on vacation, doing chores at home or driving across town. Here is the agency’s list of the top causes…  read on >

Kale Hyder was an active teenager and basketball player when a mysterious polio-like illness struck. The 6-foot-2 youth from Davenport, Iowa, woke up with a stiff neck in June 2015 at age 15. Within weeks he was paralyzed from the chest down. He was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, and was told he would never regain…  read on >

Bouncing around at a trampoline park can be great fun, but a new study warns it can also be an invitation to sprains, strains and broken bones. Nationwide, more than 100,000 emergency room visits were related to trampoline injuries in 2014, according to the latest data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Injuries that…  read on >

Could the inflammation that drives psoriasis and other immune-linked illnesses be a major player in heart disease? In a new study, certain psoriasis drugs appeared to help to keep arteries clear, suggesting such a link. “Classically a heart attack is caused by one of five risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, family history or smoking,”…  read on >

“140/90” had long been the line in the sand for getting high blood pressure under control. But in 2017, leading medical organizations lowered the definitions of normal, elevated and high blood pressure with the idea that starting treatment at lower “high” levels can better reduce heart attacks and strokes. This dramatically added to the number…  read on >

When a person in his or her teens is depressed, there may be different warning signs than those shown by people older or younger, the American Academy of Family Physicians says. Here is the academy’s list of depression symptoms that typically affect teens: Trouble focusing, or showing signs of anxiousness. Anger, and frequent loss of…  read on >

One way to get better medical care and more value for your health care dollars is to find yourself a primary care provider, researchers say. For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 70,000 U.S. adults who took part in a Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Of those, more than 49,000 had a primary care…  read on >

Research consistently tells you just how important exercise is for health. It can help head off heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many types of cancer, including breast and colon cancers. A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that another important prevention factor for an even wider group of cancers is having…  read on >

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead cells from the outer layer of the skin. People typically exfoliate because it may improve the skin’s appearance. But according to the American Academy of Dermatology, if it is not done properly, exfoliation can do more harm than good. The academy suggests how to prevent skin damage while…  read on >

Lice are typically spread by direct head-to-head contact, and less often can be spread by sharing clothing or belongings such as backpacks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Once head lice fall from a host, they can survive for fewer than a couple of days, the agency adds. The CDC suggests how…  read on >